Spiderwebs
by Vithian
Summary: High School's overrated. I mean, anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. At least, for us it does. Everyone else gets along fine. Maybe it's just the small group of friends I have?
1. Starting Up

**A/N: Edit: Yep, I edited it, as I was unhappy about the ending.  
It's story time! Here, have a bunch of boring disclaimers and warnings...  
Disclaimer (Read by Xigbar): You think she owns it? As if! Vithian owns nothing, not the characters, not the references (which are way too obvious) only the storyline. So get off my back!  
Warnings: This is slash, yaoi, shonen-ai, whatever you call it. If you have constructive criticism, great! If you simply hate this story because it's got yaoi in it, go away! I have warned you... **

**-----------------------------------------------------**

Demyx strode casually down the path, his arm slung casually over his younger brother. His brother shot him a glare that could kill a puppy, which went completely unnoticed by the older blond.

_'What do you expect when he's listening to his music?' _His brother scolded himself for even thinking that Demyx would have his attention anywhere but on his music. Reaching up, the smaller blond lifted on headphone off the side of his brother's head.

"Earth to Demyx!" The younger blond all but yelled in his brother's ear. Demyx jumped, tripped, and landed face first on the concrete.

"Jesus Roxas! Why did you do that?" Demyx whined, picking himself up off the ground. Roxas scoffed, knowing his brother wasn't hurt or even mad. "Do I still look alright?" The taller blond asked, nervousness bringing the pitch of his voice up. Roxas rolled his eyes; his brother was way too caught up on appearances.

"You look fine." Roxas looked him up and down, knowing that if a tear had appeared in his brother's favourite pair of skinny jeans, he would freak out. Well, another tear. But only one of the three tears was Roxas' fault!

Demyx dusted his piano key t-shirt off, pulled his black jacket back up, and made sure his mullet-Mohawk thing was still standing.

"I don't know why you keep your hair that way." Roxas stated, knowing they had been over this before.

"Because it's a fashion statement!" His brother argued, a defiant look in his eyes. Roxas knew that his brother was too nice for his own good, but if you tried to fight him, you wouldn't get an easy win.

"Come on, wouldn't do to be late to school on the first day back!" Roxas turned around and started walking again.

"Hey, wait up!" Demyx sprinted after his shorter, more down to earth brother, his shoulder bag slapping against his side annoyingly. Roxas turned a corner, disappearing from the taller blonds' view. Demyx followed shortly after, before stopping in his tracks. He was right outside the school's gates, and he couldn't see Roxas anywhere.

_'Crap... Okay, what was Roxas wearing?'_ Demyx forced himself to remember. Memory wasn't his strong point though, so the picture came slowly, kicking and screaming all the way. _'Okay, his hair was swept to the side like usual... He was wearing black skinny jeans, no tears unlike mine... check jacket with white t-shirt?' _Demyx didn't know if that was what the blond had been wearing or if it was just an image conjured out of his head.

Sighing, Demyx shuffled dejectedly through the school gates. He didn't really have any friends here now. His best, and only, friend, Xigbar, had moved at the end of last year and they hadn't seen each other since. They talked online all the time, but it just wasn't the same.

Roxas had his own set of friends, and while everyone guessed Demyx to be the social one, neither brother was really social. Roxas did have more friends than his taller counterpart, though that was more through chance that actually wanting a group of friends.

The shorter blond was a year younger that Demyx, and had a grand total of three friends. Demyx had met them, and they seemed alright. Well, two of them did. The mulleted blond didn't like Hayner, or the way he was so protective of Roxas. That was Demyx's job, to protect his baby brother from anything that could hurt him.

Arriving at his locker, Demyx pulled out the books he would need for the first three periods of the day. English, Biology and Music. Inwardly, Demyx groaned, scowling at the piece of paper as if it could change what classes he had. Music was his favourite subject, but English and Biology were two he could do without.

Making sure he had the right room, Demyx opened the door to English. Checking his watch, he realised he was ten minutes early. Sighing at this new record of being early, he took a seat in the back corner. When Xigbar was here, he and Demyx were always late, always doing something more interesting than coming to class. Still reminiscing, the skinny blond didn't even notice the door opening and a small teenager entering. When said teenager accidently dropped his extremely thick book though, Demyx's head snapped up so fast he thought it would snap.

Demyx stared at the small, slate haired youth who was blushing furiously. The youth had his hair pushed over the right side of his face, and the one cobalt one that Demyx could see had a calculating look in it, almost as if he was trying to analyse the interesting blond hidden away in the corner. Demyx went back to staring off into space and listening to the music blasting at much too loud a volume from his headphones.

Feeling eyes on him, Demyx turned around, noticing that the slate haired individual was still looking at him with that calculating look. Feeling self conscience, Demyx looked away. He hated being the centre of attention, hated having all those eyes judging him. It was one reason he and Xigbar were such great friends, Xigbar never judged him. Xigbar was always there for him, well, at least he used to be.

A wave of sadness washed over him. Pulling his phone out, the blond sent a quick text to his black haired friend.

**What ya up to? **Demyx typed out on the all too familiar keypad of the phone.

**Nm, schools boring as hell! What about you? **The reply came, his phone letting off a dull buzz as it vibrated.

**Class bout to begin. English first, stab me now!** Demyx quickly typed back before letting the phone rest on the desk, bringing his face down to eye level with it. The second it started to vibrate, he snatched it up eagerly.

**Im in maths. Got some freak with dreads and sideburns for a teacher. Hates me already. **Demyx couldn't help but snicker. Just like Xigbar to make enemies with his teachers on his very first day.

**What did you say to him? **

**Nothing! Just that he should hurry up and get over his mid life crisis... **At this, Demyx let his head hit the desk, unable to stop the laughter. Unbeknownst to him, the short, slate haired teen lifted his eyes from his book and gazed questionably at the blond on the other side of the room. Suddenly, an annoying high pitched ringing filled the class room, signifying that class was starting.

**Damn, class is starting! **Demyx replied, knowing that he would keep talking to Xigbar even though class was going.

**And? **The short reply had Demyx snickering, earning him several weird looks from students who had just entered. Demyx was about to reply when their teacher walked in. He was tall, extremely tall. He was also bulky, and he looked like he could take down a rhino. His brown hair was gelled back and his piercing blue eyes gazed stonily over the students who had arrived. Most of the class had arrived by now, and Demyx felt sorry for anyone not yet here.

"Hello, I am Mr Lexeaus. I shall be your English teacher." Mr Lexeaus barely spoke above a whisper, but his baritone echoed around the now silent room. Demyx quickly shoved his phone under the desk, hoping against hope that Xigbar wouldn't send him a message now. Holding the power button down, Demyx shut the phone off.

Everyone's attention was now diverted to the door, which had just been flung open by a dishevelled looking brunette. The brunette offered a sheepish smile to the intimidating teacher, the smile withering as Mr Lexeaus' glare didn't soften.

"Just, take your seat." He simply uttered, his voice carrying easily around the silent room, no-one brave enough to break the silence. The brunette glanced around and took the only empty seat, next to Demyx.

Rolling his eyes, Demyx moved his stuff off the desk next to him and onto the floor. _'Great! The kid's probably some kind of teacher's pet who'll rat me out for using my phone...' _Demyx glanced over at the now seated brunette, who was looking around the room as if searching for something. When the brunette noticed the dirty blonds' stare, he simply turned around and gave the mulleted boy a smile that was full of happiness.

"Hi, I'm Sora!" The brunette almost yelled it out, getting a little too excited. Demyx raised an eyebrow, sliding his phone back into his pocket, deciding that Xigbar would understand if he explained later.

"Demyx." The dirty blond snapped, feeling uncomfortable with Sora. _'What are you doing? You have no friends now! You should be ecstatic that someone is trying to make friends with you!' _But something about Sora through Demyx off, which was strange since the brunette seemed like someone he could connect with. Shaking his head, Demyx pulled out a pen and began to draw all over his new English book. Mr Lexeaus was writing something on the board about the proper structure of an essay, or something. Demyx didn't pay attention, continuing his drawing of shapes. He always started this way, waiting for the lines and squiggles to take shapes. Eventually, it turned out kind of like dancing water droplets.

"Wow, that's really good!" Sora exclaimed loudly next to the taller teen's ear. Demyx winced at Sora's over excited tone and volume.

"Hm." The blond merely hummed, whilst mentally slapping himself. _'Don't push him away!' _He couldn't help it. The kid was nice, but Demyx felt an instant dislike for him.

**-----------------------------------------------------**

Roxas entered his first period class, Science. The vertically challenged blond felt guilty for leaving Demyx alone, but he hadn't meant too. He couldn't find his older brother before the bell rang, so he'd just have to apologise at lunch.

"Ah, a late comer!" Roxas heard a calm voice state, wondering how the teacher had heard him. Opening the door, Roxas found every pair of eyes staring at him intently. Feeling very self-conscious, Roxas managed to stutter an excuse.

"S-Sorry Sir!" Roxas didn't let any emotion play across his features, but inside he was stabbing himself for stuttering. The teacher seemed uninterested, waved Roxas in, and continued with what he was saying. The only seat left was at the back of the classroom.

Roxas sat down, glancing at the teen sitting next to him. Said teen had vibrant red hair, and was a good head taller than Roxas. He was currently listening to some music, the headphones over his ears a good indicator. And the fact that the blond could hear the music from where he was sitting. The teen suddenly seemed to notice Roxas, his eyes flying open and glaring at the short blond. Roxas shrunk into his seat at the emerald gaze he was getting. The green eyes were so... Roxas' brain stopped working there, all his thoughts crammed into one another.

"What?" The teen hissed, his gaze never letting up. Roxas' brain started to work again, and he realised that the red head was talking to him.

"N-Nothing!" He squawked, flinching at the scoff the red head gave him. The taller teen went back to his music, leaving Roxas to sit and brood. The intensity of the other's glare had left him stunned. The look of anger, of pure hatred. Roxas didn't understand what had happened that had provoked the red head to believe that the short blond had met him before, let alone hurt him.

Deciding that the work wouldn't get done if he sat in a vegetable like state, Roxas picked up a pencil and began to write out the stuff their teacher had written on the board. With a quick glance, Roxas looked at the teacher's name written out in the top right-hand corner of the black board. _'Mr Saix Villi... That's an interesting name, I guess.' _However, one look at Mr Villi and you knew the name suited his... interesting character. He had long blue hair, pulled back from his face. His amber eyes gazed calmly over the students, stopping for a few seconds to study each student. Maybe the strangest thing was the X shaped scar over the bridge of his nose. Some of the more obnoxious teens were staring, obviously at the scar, until Mr Villi glared at them with savage eyes.

"Now, everyone get out your textbooks and turn to Page 274." The room was filled with the sounds of rustling paper as Mr Villi calmly uttered those words. Roxas pulled his textbook out from his bag, flipped to Page 274, and began to work on the questions. Working his way methodically through the many questions, the short blond didn't even notice the angry, green eyes staring at him intently the whole time.

Demyx was about ready to stab something by the time English was over. The short, over enthusiastic brunette who had decided to befriend Demyx would not shut up, no matter how many times Demyx told him to. What was worse, now Demyx had a detention because he was apparently talking in class. The only one talking was Sora. Demyx was innocently bashing his head against the desk.

Walking to Biology, the dirty blond considered what he would do at lunch. _'The music room?'_ Demyx had always been allowed to go there, he and Xigbar would hang out there sometimes and practice. Demyx played several instruments, well, more like a lot, whilst Xigbar only knew guitar. Pondering these thoughts, Demyx pushed the door to Biology open, and saw that he was the last one there.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" A voice emanated from the front of the class room. Demyx smiled sheepishly at the tall, tan man. His silver hair was gelled back, and his golden eyes glared emotionlessly at the late blond.

"Ughh... Sorry Sir!" Demyx squeaked. He couldn't help it. He was a coward by nature.

"I shall be lenient as this is the first day of school, but next time..." The teacher left the threat unspoken. Demyx shuffled into the classroom and tried to find a seat. The only one left was up the back, next to some emo kid. The kid didn't even glance up from his book as Demyx sat down. Thinking back, the dirty blond realised that the kid was in his English class too.

Sighing, Demyx wished he was braver, more social. He wanted to talk to the short emo looking kid. His slate coloured hair hung over his right eye, and the other cobalt eye was reading the book, oblivious to the world around it.

"Yes?" An irritated voice asked, snapping the blond out of his stupor.

"Hm, what?" Mentally slapping himself, Demyx found himself looking into the deep blue eyes of the teen sitting next to him.

"You were staring." He said bluntly, returning to his book.

"I was?" _'Great! Why don't you say something to make more of an idiot of yourself!'  
_  
The slate haired kid sighed and tried his hardest to ignore the stare Demyx was still giving him. It looked like the tall blond didn't even know he was doing it. It made him uncomfortable, but in a different way than the way he felt when others were staring.

"You still are." The kid didn't even look at him, just replied in that emotionless voice of his.

"I'm sorry." Demyx was blushing now, extremely embarrassed. He felt like banging his head on the desk, but that wouldn't help him appear saner. "So, umm... what's your name?" _'There was no way you couldn't have sounded stupider when saying that...' _

The teen simply looked up from his book and gave Demyx a disbelieving look with his one cobalt eye. Sighing, the teen reluctantly admitted.

"It's Zexion."

**-----------------------------------------------------**_**  
**_  
Science. Was. Hell. Roxas had suffered fifty minutes of pure torture, the repetitive questions, the teacher blowing up at the smallest of things and that damn red head that had stared at him the entire lesson! Second period was no better, Health was probably the most boring subject in existence!

Roxas stopped, realising he had been sending the death glare to anyone who so much as looked at him. Taking a deep breath, Roxas calmed himself down, and continued making his way to Art.

"Roxas!" A voice yelled out from down the hall. Said blond turned around, looking for whoever had called his name. Spotting Olette and Pence, Roxas smiled and gave them a small wave. Olette practically bounced up to him, whilst Pence was a little less enthusiastic.

"Hey there Roxas!" Pence remarked, waving slightly.

"Hey Olette, Pence!" Roxas started walking again, Olette and Pence falling into step beside him. "You've got IT now, right Pence?"

"Yep! I can't believe you didn't do it with me, I could've helped you and we could've down all our projects together..." Pence started to ramble. Roxas cut him off before he could continue.

"Pence, even if you tutored me for the next twenty years, I still wouldn't be even average! And if we did our projects together, you would end up doing all the work." Roxas argued. Pence didn't really believe for one second that there was any hope of Roxas doing IT, but he liked to dream.

"You could've done Extensive English with me?" Olette offered, her hands accentuating the question. "I know you like all those formal speeches."

"Maybe, but I just find Art relaxing." Roxas stopped walking, having arrived at his classroom. "Anyways, I'll see you guys at lunch?"

"Sure Roxas!" Pence called out as he walked away. Roxas pulled the door to Art open and waltzed in. Art was his favourite subject. Sure, he wasn't the best, but he could forget his troubles, draw his frustration out.

"Ah, Roxas! How good to see you've taken Art again!" Luxord, his Art teacher strode up to him. He didn't believe in the whole teachers must be addressed by their last name philosophy, so to everyone he was just Luxord. He had short, cropped blond hair and dark blue eyes. His ear had multiple piercings, and the few times he had been seen in a t-shirt revealed his arms to be covered in tattoos.

"Did you really think I wouldn't come back?" Roxas joked, as he took his seat next to Marluxia. Marluxia gave a friendly wave, his pink hair bouncing as he turned his head back to the drawing. "Don't tell me you're drawing him again!" Roxas exclaimed, taking a glance at the detailed lead drawing.

"I can't help it. I tell myself not to, but every time I look at him, I unconsciously start sketching again!" The taller boy sighed. Roxas took another glance, taking in all the detail. It really was an amazing drawing. The boy was standing in the centre of a whirlpool, but not a conventional whirlpool. This one was made of ice. It whipped around him, throwing his long hair in every direction, his eyes were calmly gazing at an object in the distance.

"His hair's out." Roxas stated. He had seen the teen around school, and his hair had always been in a loose ponytail.

"Yeah, I kind of guessed the actual length and how it would look out. I'm still not happy with it."

"You're never happy with drawings of him."

"I know. I can never capture his perfection!" Marluxia wailed, getting frustrated.

"Why don't you just ask him out?" Roxas suggested. _'Maybe he's finally getting it...' _Marluxia simply looked at him with a disbelieving gaze, panic flooding through his eyes. _'Maybe not...'_

"Are you kidding? He'll just stare at me, like I'm some freak! He wouldn't, no, he couldn't like me! His parents are the biggest bible bashers of all time! They probably raised him to believe all gays are monsters!" By the end of his rant, Marluxia was panting, fear the only emotion in his blue eyes.

"Calm down! He won't stare at you, he could like you, not all Catholics are bible bashers, they probably didn't even think of raising him to hate gays, and maybe if you talked to him, then you wouldn't have to do all this wondering!" Roxas tried to contradict all the things his pink haired friend had said. Marluxia seemingly calmed down, returning to his drawing. Roxas sighed. Marluxia had liked the same person for years now, ever since they met. But he was too scared to say something, knowing he would be unable to bear the hatred in his crushes green eyes. Roxas had been pushing Marluxia to do something, to ask him out. But Marluxia just couldn't. He couldn't even talk to the boy. He just admired him from a distance.

Marluxia has been scared of what people would think if he came out of the closet. The only person at the school who knew was Roxas. This was because Roxas figured it out, not because Marluxia told him. Twilight Town High was the kind of small town school, where everybody's parents knew everyone else's parents, where your business was everyone's business. It was a nice enough town, but Roxas just found it suffocating. It also meant that people could be incredibly close minded, and you never knew how someone would react when they hadn't been exposed to something like it before.

"Students! We have to start sometime today!" Luxord called out, his British accent echoing around the room. "Now, we are going to start this year off with a bang! I have a project for each of you-" Luxord was cut off by the load groans of his thirty odd students. With a smirk, he continued. "Now, now students. It's not that big of a deal. It is using whatever medium you want, and this is a themed project. Each of you will receive a theme, and you must design something to fit the theme. I'll draw the names out of a hat, then the themes out of another. No changing, and I'll record what theme you get as I pull it out, so I'll know if you swapped with someone."

Luxord pulled out two hats, both identical except for one feature: One had 'Names' written on a piece of paper stuck to the hat, whilst the other had 'Themes'.

"Okay, first name out of the hat... Rikku!" A squeal was heard from the over enthusiastic girl as her name was called. "And your theme is... Colour!" Cue another squeal.

This went on for quite some time, reading each name out, telling them their theme, and pulling another name out. Around the middle, Marluxia got called.

"Okay... Marluxia! And your theme is... Seasons!" Marluxia had lifted his pink head at the sound of his name, but let it drop after hearing his theme, his pencil moving fluently over the page, adding lines and shading to his drawing.

"Next, we have... Lawliet! Your theme is... Logic!"

"Matt! And your theme is... Loyalty!"

"Up next... Near! Your theme is... Puzzles!"

And so it continued. Roxas tuned out the many names, knowing he would instinctively start to listen when his name was uttered.

"Roxas! Your theme is... First Love!" Roxas' jaw almost hit the desk. There was so little leeway with a theme like that. Shaking his head, he glanced up at Luxord, his teacher had a smirk plastered on his face. Roxas scowled. Luxord probably gave him the worst theme on purpose.

"Mello! Your theme is... Competition!"

"And lastly... Axel! Your theme is... Talent! That's it, you may start planning this period. You will be presenting to the class, no information necessary, just whatever you hand in. The best ones will be nominated for the annual art show! You have five weeks to complete it. Anything overdue will not be accepted, you will simply receive a zero. Get started!" Luxord commanded, the class snapping into action. In a few seconds, all that could be heard was the sound of pencil on paper as diligent students planned out their artworks.

Roxas gazed at his art book, as if it was at fault. He couldn't think of anything for this theme, it was too narrow. Mindlessly, the short blond grabbed a pencil and began sketching a heart. It wasn't going to be anywhere near standard for what Luxord wanted, but it might help overcome his creative block.

Faintly, the bell could be heard ringing. It wasn't heard in the Art block.

Music was Demyx's all time favourite subject. He had spent the period in the soundproof practice room, playing his sitar and singing along where no one could hear him. Xigbar had always told him he was a great singer, that if he really wanted to he could be famous. Demyx would always laugh at these comments. Singers were confident, singers loved the attention. Demyx couldn't even do his class speech. The second those eyes fell on him, he froze, unable to move, barely breathing.

Shaking his head, Demyx made his way to the cafeteria. He pushed the doors open silently, making his way to the bench at the back of the hall. This was his area, always had been, always will be. When Xigbar was here, it became his area too. But now it was just Demyx's.

Sitting down, Demyx pulled his lunch out from his bag. He never bought anything. Too much effort for too little a reward. Opening the brown bag containing his lunch, Demyx squealed when he saw his brother had packed him a wrap. Wraps were his favourite lunch time meal. Smiling to himself, the mulleted blond didn't even notice the tall, ponytailed youth that was approaching him.

This youth was glancing around nervously, eyes resting on certain people, but never looking them in the eye. The youth's long blond hair was restrained in a ponytail that trailed down his back, and his green eyes held a certain amount of confidence, yet it was overshadowed by the nervousness. The youth usually sat by himself, outside, but that area had been declared out of bounds, and the youth always followed the rules. Always.

"Umm... Can I sit here?" Scolding his pleading tone, the gangly youth forced himself to look into the other blonds' eyes. The other was eating a wrap, yet had paused, half way through a bite.

Demyx slowly nodded. Even though he hated people he didn't know asking if they could sit with them, he always let them. They never came back anyway. The youth sat down, obviously uncomfortable. Demyx decided to make it a little easier for him. Swallowing his food, Demyx said the first thing that popped into his mind.

"What's your name?"

"V-Vexen." The ponytailed blond stuttered, as he pulled a note book from his bag, as well as a pencil. The book was thick, yet it wasn't a school book. Vexen flipped through the pages to around the middle and instantly began scribbling something. Curious, Demyx asked him what he was doing.

"I'm, ah, writing down my scientific results." Demyx's eyes narrowed at this. _'Did he come and sit here just to do a test?' _Sighing, he realised it was the most likely answer, and that his thoughts of having some form of friend had been dashed before they even started to take form.

"You see, I performed an experiment on whether iodine was more reactive in hotter or cooler climates, and I'm simply recording my thoughts on it." Vexen continued, unaware that he had just given his dirty blond haired companion reason to relax. Smiling, he took a bite of his wrap, realizing that Vexen had no lunch. Reaching into his shoulder bag, Demyx pulled out a mandarin and rolled it over the bench to Vexen.

"You must be hungry. Take it, I'll only end up giving it to my brother anyway." Demyx shrugged and resumed eating whilst Vexen stared at the fruit, as if it was possessed by a demon. After blinking a few times, he picked it up and raised his dark green eyes to meet Demyx's deep blue ones.

"Thank you." He whispered and started to pull the skin off the fruit. Demyx wasn't even sure if he heard him. But he didn't have time to wonder as the bell rang, signifying the end of lunch. Vexen waved goodbye to Demyx and wandered off down a corridor.

_'I wonder how Roxas spent his lunch...' _

**-----------------------------------------------------**

_'Love... love... what can I do for love?' And not just any love, it has to be First Love...'_ Massaging his temples in frustration, Roxas let his pencil slide from his fingers. Taking a glance at Marluxia, Roxas felt even worse, seeing as how his pink haired friend was drawing franticly, as if the idea would leave him if he stopped drawing. _'Or maybe he's still drawing Vexen... Yeah, that makes a lot more sense.'_

"Class... Did you know that the bell rang twenty minutes ago?" Luxord remarked, still fingering through his magazine, ignoring the outraged cries of those who wanted to go to lunch. "If you weren't so concentrated on your work you would have heard the bell. I didn't want to drag my devoted students from their beloved work!" Sarcasm dripped from every word, and he only got more enraged cries of "You could've told us!"

Roxas grabbed his things, waved goodbye to Marluxia, and made his way to the cafeteria. He didn't mind missing half of his lunch, he just hoped his friends understood. _'Of course they would! They're your friends, they know that you didn't mean to miss half of the only lunch we have together.' _It sounded weak, even in his head. Something had pushed Roxas and his friends apart.

"Um, hey guys?" Roxas rubbed the back of his neck as he approached the table, three pairs of eyes wandering over to him, one pair glaring at him.

"Where were you?" Hayner demanded, standing up. Olette simply looked down at the table sighing. There was no stopping Hayner when he was like this.

"I got held up in Art." The blond replied simply, ignoring his stomach's outcry for food.

"It's always something! Last week you said you couldn't come because you had to study for a History test, and the week before, your English teacher kept you in! I'm sick of it, don't bother coming anymore." And with that, Hayner grabbed his stuff and stormed off, Olette and Pence in tow.

Sitting down, Roxas mindlessly began to eat, unaware he had even gotten his lunch out.

He always found a way to screw up.

**-----------------------------------------------------**

**Okay, I'm gonna stop it there! **

**How was it? It kinda dragged on but I shall fix that! To anyone that reads, do you want longer chapters, or quicker updates? That and I have never actually written a short chapter before, so keep that in mind! Was everyone IC? I hope so...**

**One more question! Should I stick to one POV, or switch like I did? I prefer switching, but it's your call. **

**Until next time...  
~Vithian**


	2. My First Steps

**A/N: I'm not giving up on this story, despite the lack of reviews. Special thanks to XxLovelyxStitchesxX for being my first reviewer! Thank you!  
Disclaimer (Read by Luxord): Listen up, my lovelies, Vithian owns nada, nothing, zip. If she did, why would she be writing fan fiction?  
Warnings: Slash, angst, you know the drill!  
I actually started to write this when I didn't feel like going to the talent quest. So I gots a free period! Yay! Thankfully, the teacher supervising us didn't actually ****read**** what I was writing...  
But I'm sure you're all sick of my ramblings, so on with the show!**

-\1:27pm/-

Trying to weave his way through the crowded halls, Vexen seriously regretted not talking to Demyx for longer. The mulleted blond was at least civil to him, unlike so many others. _'If you'd have just waited one minute, you could have arranged to meet at break, and you would be sitting in the cafeteria with someone who could be a friend, instead of trying to weave your way through a crowded hallway of people who either don't like you, or are indifferent to your existence.' _Barely jumping out of the way before a herd of jocks passed through the narrow corridor, Vexen shook his head to rid it of unwanted thoughts. Pushing a stay piece of hair behind his ear, the ponytailed blond began searching for an empty room. _'Maybe Demyx and I just have different break periods...'_ Vexen tried to convince himself that his new found friend-

Stopping the thought right there, Vexen froze in the hallway. He had not just called Demyx a friend. They were nowhere near that point yet. Continuing down the hallway before he was crushed underfoot, Vexen finally located an empty classroom. Pushing the door open, the blond discovered it wasn't as empty as he thought.

A lone boy was sitting in the middle of the classroom on the desk, headphones covering his ears and pink hair flowing down to his shoulders. The boy had his back turned to Vexen, and hadn't heard the door open. This much Vexen had figured out since the boy hadn't turned to face him, and that he could hear the music blasting out of the headphones from across the classroom. About to slide the door shut, Vexen stopped and froze when he heard the boy softly singing to himself.

_**"I wanna tell you what I'm feeling but I don't know where to start,  
I wanna tell you but now I'm afraid that you might break my heart,  
Oh why should anything so easy ever be so hard to do,  
I wanna tell you what I'm feeling and to say that,  
I love you"**_

At this, Vexen's mind froze. There was no way he was just singing that because it was playing on his mp3. The feeling, the raw emotion, he was singing this to someone. Despite his fear of people, Vexen quietly shuffled over to the figure on the table, even though there was no chance he would be heard. The boy was now quietly humming to himself, and now that he was closer, Vexen could see the boy drawing something in an art book. It looked kind of like a person.

"GAH!" The pink haired teen jumped when Vexen poked him, dropping his pencil and art book. The teen pulled off his head phones and turned to face Vexen, his hair whipping around. "What?" The teen hissed angrily, but then his glare softened as he took in the blonds' vulnerable appearance.

_'I probably look pathetic, like a lost sheep...'_ Vexen thought self-loathingly. "Umm... W-What's your name?" _'Bravo... You've outdone yourself...'_

Taken aback, the other looked kind of puzzled before simply uttering "Marluxia..." The pink haired teen didn't look at Vexen with hatred or indifference, but with curiosity. "What about you?"

"I'm Vexen," _'Weak!' _"Umm... Is there someone you were singing that song to?" Vexen was growing more confident. For some reason, he felt comfortable around Marluxia, even if they just met.

"Oh, ahh... Y-Yeah, there is..." Marluxia turned around quickly, pink hair flying everywhere. But Vexen didn't miss the faint pink tinging his cheeks. Vexen quietly shuffled up in front of Marluxia and stared inquisitively at the top of his companion's head, since Marluxia refused to meet his eyes.

"Who?" He asked, thinking he may be overstepping his boundaries by asking, but he couldn't resist. His head tilted to the side, an unconscious reaction that he couldn't suppress.

Before he could react, Marluxia's head had snapped up so fast his neck might crack, and before he could think, he had leant in, and placed his lips firmly on Vexen's. The blond was shocked, his eyes wide open as he stared at the other's closed ones.

Marluxia pulled back, and opened his eyes to find bulging, green eyes, wide with shock, staring intently at him. Marluxia stared back with his bright blue orbs, trying to find any hint of disgust and hatred in his secret crushes eyes. Only seeing shock, the pink haired teen calmed down slightly, until Vexen took a step back, then another, his eyes never leaving Marluxia's. When he ran into a desk, he jumped about a metre in the air, ran past Marluxia and out into the corridor. Sighing, Marluxia picked up his drawing and his pencil, and continued sketching yet another picture of the blond he's just scared away.

-**\3:04pm/**-

Roxas was sullen as the day ended, meeting up with Demyx. He couldn't even remember the last few periods of the day, and break had simply been a blur. Over the past couple of months, he and his three supposed best friends had fought more. Mainly, it was Roxas and Hayner. Demyx seemed to recognise his brother's 'I Hate the World' face, and didn't question him about it, simply leading him home.

Incredibly grateful for his brother's go-with-the-flow nature, Roxas was tempted to ask about whatever it was that had Demyx bouncing constantly. But he just wasn't up to conversation. Arriving at home, Roxas dragged himself up the stairs, opened the third door on the right, and threw his bag down on the ground.

His room, his sanctuary. It was impeccably neat, very different to Demyx's room opposite. It was coloured mainly with black and white, but the occasional colour made itself known. Flopping down on his bed, Roxas let out a long, heaving sigh. After his fight with Hayner, he couldn't remember any of his classes, if anyone said hi to him, nothing. It was just a blur.

_'I think one of the teachers was yelling at me... Maybe for being late?' _Roxas pondered as a fuzzy figure entered his memory, and the sound of distant shouting replaying in his mind. It didn't matter; he'd deal with it tomorrow.

"Roooooooxas, are you okay?" Demyx yelled out, dragging his name out as it reverberated up the stairs.  
_  
'Trust Demyx to notice...' _Sighing, Roxas picked himself up and wandered down the stairs. He really didn't feel like explaining, but Demyx wasn't one to give up easily. Walking past the other at the bottom of the stairs, he signalled for him to follow. Roxas sat down at the table, whilst Demyx went into the open plan kitchen and started to prepare a meal. Knowing his brother couldn't cook for the life of him, Roxas got back up and pushed Demyx out of the way and started to grab some ingredients. When he looked at what he'd grabbed, he decided to make some pancakes, even though it was slightly late for them.

"So, what happened?" Demyx may not be the smartest, hell; they'd tested him for every learning disability known to man. But he knew when someone was upset and needed help, he knew when talking would just make things worse, and he knew how to get people to talk when they needed to.

"Hayner and I fought again, but it seems worse this time." Roxas sighed, grabbing a bowl and starting to empty the ingredients in. "He doesn't want me hanging around Marluxia, but I have no idea why! It's so frustrating..." Letting out a frustrated hiss, Roxas finished mixing and emptied the mix into a pan and lighting the cook top.

"Isn't Marluxia in my year?" Demyx tilted his head in confusion, before walking over to the fridge and grabbing the orange juice, drinking straight from the bottle. Rolling his eyes, Roxas threw a plastic cup at Demyx, before turning back to the cook top. Hearing a pained cry, Roxas knew that plastic was good when dealing with one as oblivious as Demyx.

"Yeah, he is, but Art is all years in class. There weren't enough people picking it, so we just combined all the classes. It just means that your class isn't always the same, since Art is the same class, but in all periods. You following me?"

"Ugh, no, but alright. And that hurt!" Demyx whined, pouring himself a drink. Roxas served some pancakes, grabbing the maple syrup. Demyx let out a squeal of joy, dashing to the cupboard and grabbing a bunch of bottles and pouring all of them on his pancakes.

"Shouldn't you check what you're pouring on your pancakes?" Roxas said in-between bites. His answer was given when Demyx started coughing and spluttering, reaching for his orange juice. Apparently it didn't help, since he only coughed harder and began to pant. Roxas couldn't hold in his laughter, knowing he should be helping, but when he tried to stand up from his chair, he was laughing so hard he fell over, gasping for air. He could hear Demyx turning the tap on, taking large gulps of water. Eventually, he sat up, and looked over at what Demyx had actually eaten.

"Tibonera Hot Sauce? Chilli? Tomato Radish? God Demyx, check what you're eating first! There are turnips here from five years ago! And you ate them!" Chuckling again, Roxas turned around to find Demyx lapping at the stream of water that the tap had produced, a look of pure joy on his features.

"Mmmm... Don't care... It just makes water taste all the more sweeter!" Smiling, Demyx turned the tap off and turned to face Roxas, wiping his face on his jacket sleeve. "Do you know anyone named Vexen? I never noticed him before..."

"Who, Vexen? Yeah, I know him," Roxas stopped himself from saying just _how _he knew Vexen, hoping that Demyx would get so lost in his own little world that he won't ask. He couldn't lie to his brother, he physically couldn't, but he wouldn't reveal Marluxia's secret either. "He's in your year, right? I never really talked to him, just seen him around."

"Yeah, he is, but he kind of blends into the wall. He's so... I don't know, not noticeable?" Demyx looked questionably at Roxas, as if asking if he had used the right word. Giving a curt nod, he urged Demyx to continue. "Well, he came and sat with me today, and I think... we might be able to... become friends?" Sounding incredibly unsure, Demyx started to rub the back of his neck unconsciously.

Shocked, Roxas just kind of stood there. His brother didn't just make friends. Everyone thought so, he was so upbeat and confident, but under that façade, he was scared of what others would think. Xigbar was the only one Demyx had ever let come close, and that had taken months of preservation on Xigbar's part.

"Great, I mean, wonderful!" Grinning like a Cheshire cat, Roxas stuttered out a breathless reply. This seemed to satisfy Demyx, who instantly calmed down, his wide, open smile returning. Although Roxas kept smiling, it felt more forced now. _'Vexen will figure it out eventually... although Demyx always has been good at acting...'_

**-\1:28pm/-**

Sprinting down the hall, Vexen didn't care whether people noticed him or not. This thought alone shocked him, he'd _always _cared, he'd always wanted to remain in the shadows. It was like some instinct, something his parents had drilled into him.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of running, he arrived at the bathrooms. Throwing the door open to the mens, Vexen stumbled over to the sink, almost hitting his head on the sink. Gripping the side, his knuckles white, Vexen reluctantly looked into the eyes of his reflection. His normally pale and gaunt face seemed even thinner and sickly white. His eyes were huge, the black pupil filling most of the iris, a thin circle of green around it. A few strands of hair had escaped from his ponytail, falling in front of his face, adding to his somewhat crazed appearance.

Thinking back on the last few minutes caused Vexen's breathing to quicken and his heart rate to increase. Having trouble of breathing, Vexen put most of his weight on the sink, not trusting his legs. _'I...I kissed a boy! My parents are going to kill me...'_ He might of laughed had he not been freaking out. His parents were strictly religious, and had instilled in him every belief the Bible taught. It wasn't until he was six that his parents began to worry.

They were always protective, never letting him watch T.V. unless they were there, and even then for only short amounts of time. He was shown to be bright at a young age, and his parents made sure he would succeed in life. He rarely went outside, giving him a sickly pale complexion and dull blond hair. When he was five, he realised that school was torture. No one liked him, and even though he tried, he just an extremely meek boy who knew no one. In Twilight Town, everyone knows everyone, even if it's just recognising a face. But no one even knew that Marlene and Drew had even had a kid. So Vexen simply let himself blend in, accepting fate.

When he was six, he encountered something that confused him. Walking home from school was time that Vexen cherished. He didn't have to please anyone, or try to fade into the background. Whilst walking through the park, he encountered an interesting man, full of energy, something Vexen still admired.

**-**

_"Well hey there sport!" A bubbly young man ran up to Vexen, waving cheerfully. Taken aback, Vexen glanced around to see if there was anyone else that he could be talking to. "I'm Zack, what's your name?" The man, Zack, asked, oblivious to the young boy's distress._

"I'm Vexen." He mumbled, uncomfortable. No one had ever approached him like this before. Usually it was other children who had begrudgingly agreed to talk to him when the teacher tells them that Vexen looks lonely.

Zack had spiky black hair, sticking out behind him. Some of it fell to either side of his face, framing it nicely. His bright blue eyes stood out against his tanned skin.

"Zack, why are you torturing this poor boy here? This is supposed to be _our__ date, remember?" Another man approached, this one with spiky blond hair, sticking out in weird directions. His voice was quiet, yet it carried a feeling of authority. Zack through his arm around the newcomer._

"Well, little Vexen here looked so lonely that I just had to come and say hi!" Zack defended himself, drawing the blond closer. "Kid, this here's Cloud, my oh-so-lovely boyfriend with anger management issues-OW!" As soon as Cloud heard the last bit, he whacked Zack over the head.

"Idiot." Cloud muttered, rolling his eyes. Zack rubbed the spot on the back of his head, wincing slightly. Feeling slightly guilty apparently, Cloud kissed Zack on the cheek.

"Thanks for proving my point!" Vexen watched silently, as the two continued their playful banter. Deciding he should go, Vexen spun on his heels and headed back towards his house. Something had caught his attention, and his curiosity wouldn't leave him alone...

**-**

A small, pitiful laugh escaped Vexen's lips, however it sounded more like a sob. He had been smart, he knew that he hadn't seen anyone but his parents and a couple of people around town kiss, and it had never been two men. So, naive that he was, he asked his parents. They had exploded at him, his father telling him that God hated those who chose to love those of the same sex. Vexen had sat there, and once again made the mistake of voicing his opinion. He said it didn't look wrong, that they were both happy. He asked what was wrong with it.

His father had gone purple with rage, his mother left the room, sobbing. After having a Bible thrown at him, he was told to recite Leviticus 18:22 until it was embedded into his brain. His father had made calls to people, and had sounded furious. Vexen didn't see Zack or Cloud again.

Hyperventilating, he thought about his father's reaction to the news that his son had kissed another boy. He would never see the light of day again. _'I'll never see Marluxia again...' _Unsure of why that thought was troubling him so much, Vexen slid down to the floor, where he finally let the sobs take over. Everything was just piling up, overwhelming him. Reaching for the cross he always wore around his neck, the blond began to recite Leviticus 18:22, over and over until he was working on autopilot. Getting up, he wiped his face on his sleeve and pulled his hair back into place. Taking a dreaded glance into the mirror revealed still sickly pale skin and his eyes still large and panicked. Deciding it wasn't going to get any better, he picked his shoulder bag up and briskly exited the bathroom, his mind drifting to things he shouldn't think about...

**-\3:11 pm/-**

_'Is it just me, or is T.V. getting more and more... dumbed down?' _Demyx considered, not really thinking about it. Right now, he was watching some show about doctors. The main one had some nice hair, all black and gelled up. Not nearly as nice as his, but still. He seemed to love this blonde doctor, and constantly followed a psychopath around. Demyx shook his head at the silly, cheesy lines, before a knock on the door brought his attention away from the show.

"Hey, Demyx? Can you get that?" Roxas' voice echoed down from the stairs. Demyx didn't reply, simply got up and opened it.

"Hel-OOF!" Demyx started to say hello in monotone, his brain still not on, before his breath was knocked out of him by a brown blur.

"Hi there! Hey, Demyx, I didn't know you lived here!" The brown blur turned out to be the annoying kid from English, Soar or whatever.

Hearing a snicker come from another person, one he hadn't noticed before, Demyx attempted to look over the many protruding chocolate spikes, but he could only make out a red blur.

"Sora, maybe you should let go, so he can, you know, breathe?" A deep voice started emanating from the red blur, along with more snickers.

"Oh right, sorry!" Sora quickly let go and rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed, his cheeks heating up. This only made the blur laugh harder, bending over. "Axel, shut up!" Of course, Axel just continued laughing, falling to his knees.

"Demyx, who is it?" Roxas called out, his voice growing louder as he descended the stairs. Demyx turned around, to see a stone still Roxas staring just passed the dirty blonds' head. "Why is _he _here?" Turning back around to face the two on the doorstep, he saw that Sora was oblivious to Roxas' uncomfortable gaze, whist Axel was glaring at him coldly.

"Um, why don't you come in?" Demyx mumbled, moving out of the way. Sora literally skipped inside the house, letting out short gasps of wonder and amazement at everything. _'It's not that amazing...'_ Though Demyx did have to admire the brunette's ecstatic attitude. It was still annoying though. Axel simply shuffled in, ignoring Roxas completely now. "So, um, why are you here? And how did you know where we lived?"

"Well! Axel was walking down the hall when Luxord, the art teacher, approached him and said 'Axel! I need you to do a special project for me! I've been going over some of the records and it appears that you and another student have some marks that you never got. You need to do a partner project, as well as your other one. Your partner is Roxas, he should be over at the library, waiting for his brother like he does every day. Get a move on and tell him!' So then Axel went over to the library, but you two had already left, so he decided to go home, but I found him first and he told me and-" Sora paused, taking a large gulp of air, "I spotted Demyx, 'cause his hair stands out. Axel recognised Roxas from some other class, but you were so far ahead that we couldn't catch up, so we just saw what house you went into and now we're here." At this, Sora just grinned, slightly out of breath, his words at the end kind of blending into each other, but Demyx got the gist of it.

Throughout all of this, Axel remained silent, his gaze returning to Roxas. Demyx started to feel uncomfortable, so he couldn't even imagine what Roxas was feeling under that scrutinising gaze.

"Why don't you come to the studio?" Roxas said in a small voice, slowly climbing up the stairs, motioning for Axel to follow. With a shrug, Axel smiled at Sora and jumped up the stairs, two at a time.

**-**

Roxas stuck a cord with me. That's all I knew. For some reason, I hadn't seen him around school before, even though we were in the same year. I didn't let it bother me. What did bother me was the fact that I had to work with him. At least his brother seemed alright.

Following the short blond down the hall, he opened the last door on the left. I sucked in a gasp as I saw his studio. I expected something small, but I was blown away. The walls were white, as was the floor, or at least, they used to be. Now, they were covered in paint, a few gleaming points of white still shining through. Easels of varying sizes were scattered around the room, some with a half finished painting on them. Instruments were leaning against walls and left around the room. There were so many, I didn't bother counting. A stereo system was in one corner, the only corner not affected by the paint.

"Wow..." Was all I could manage. I don't even have a studio. "You must have some fuckin rich parents..." At least he doesn't seem disturbed by my casual swearing.

"Hmm..." He hums an agreement (At least, I think it is) as he searches through the pile of canvases at the side, searching for one the right size. Pulling out a giant one, he sets it on the ground, walks over to the wall, and opens up a cupboard I didn't see. It's full of pencils, pens, paints and everything else artistic.

"Is there a theme?" He speaks so quietly I can barely understand him.

"Nope, nada, nothing, etcetera, etcetera." He gives me a weird look as I say this. I raise an eyebrow, urging him to say whatever he wanted to say.

"Why... Why do you keep looking at me like you hate me?"

I didn't expect that... Smirking, I looked down at him. Which was easy considering my height advantage.

"I don't. I have no idea why you annoy me so. But I'll try and get along with you as long as this project has to be done."

This answer didn't seem to please him. I could understand that. It didn't sound true even to my ears.

**-\4:09pm/-**

Conversation was stained to begin with. But after a while, they both felt more comfortable within the other's presence. They'd decided to both draw a design for the project, and then meld them together. Playing a little game called 'Truth' helped them break the ice.

"Okay, so is that your natural hair colour?" Roxas couldn't resist. His hair was just too... red! It couldn't be real.

"Of course. Hair dye gives you greys!" Axel rolled his eyes, smirking at the blonds' inexperience. "My turn, do you have a girlfriend?" Narrowing his eyes, Axel leant forward, smirking slyly at Roxas, who suddenly appeared uncomfortable. Blushing Roxas looked down, trying to avoid Axel's gaze.

"Ugh, n-no," _'Stop blushing, stop blushing, STOP FREAKIN BLUSHING!' _

"Why so embarrassed, Roxy?"

"Roxy?" At this, the small blond head snapped up, eyebrows raised, staring Axel straight in the eye with a look of amusement and disbelief. "You're kidding, right?"

"Nope. It suits you." The red head drawled, as the other rolled his eyes. "So, why so embarrassed, Roxy?"

"Uh-uh! My turn, now!" Roxas pushed Axel back, not with a lot of force, but enough for Axel to get the idea. He didn't. "Mind getting out of my face?"

"Hmm... No, I quite like the view here. Why so embarrassed, Roxy?" Again, Axel asked the incessant question. _'God, he's worse than a parrot!' _For a second, Roxas drifted off, imagining a small, spiky haired parrot saying Roxy, over and over and over.

"You'd be so annoying..." Roxas mumbled by accident, snapping out of his daydream. Axel gave him a weird look, but he simply shrugged it off. "Anyway, it's my turn-" Silenced by Axel's hand, Roxas blinked in confusion.

"No, you asked me to get out of your face and I said no. Now, it's my turn!" Giving Roxas a devilish smirk, the short blond shuddered.

"YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN UP THERE FOR AGES!" Demyx's voice carried all the way up the stairs, echoing around the hallway. Roxas raised his eyebrows at this. Demyx never yelled in the company of others unless he was comfortable in their presence. __

'Maybe he and Sora are getting along...'  
**-**

I signed into dA today, to find I had 813 messages. I found it hilarious.  
Anyway, here's an update, sorry it took awhile. Updates shall have no schedule, since I simply write in my limited free time, which comes at random times.  
Anyone who catches the references can tell me what they are and what they're from gets the next chapter dedicated to them! I think there's two, but if you find another one, tell me!

Cyber hugs for reviews?  
~Vithian


	3. Through Their Eyes

**A/N: Okay, this one shakes the story up a bit. It's becoming too complicated for me to remember, so I'm actually keeping track of everything in a Word Document, because my memory sucks. Also, hears a basic age guide!  
Zack/Cloud (Present) – 25 (Flashback) – 14  
Demyx/Axel/Xigbar – 18*  
Vexen/Marluxia/Zexion/Sora – 17  
Roxas – 16  
*With those ones, everything shall be explained as to why Demyx is only one year above Roxas and why Axel is in the same year as Roxas. Until then, you can try and guess!**

* * *

-~*3:08pm*~-

The rest of the day was a blur, I couldn't concentrate in any classes, much to the surprise of all my teachers. It would've surprised me too, but my mind had, effective immediately, shut down. I didn't see Marluxia again, which could be counted as a...

_'As a what exactly? A positive? Or a negative?' _I shook my head, trying to get rid of the logical voice. You know you're crazy when the voices in your head know better than you do. I shuffled, head down, over to my locker and put all unnecessary books back in, took out ones needed for homework, and started to make my way out of the large, brick building called Twilight Town High. I was basically the only one left, everyone else rushed from school as soon as it ended. Usually I hung around for five minutes, but today I was going as slow as possible.

Home at the moment scared me. My father would look right through me, he'd see the dirty, despicable deed I had done. He'd yell, shout, wake up the dead if necessary. Mother would simply ask Drew what had happened. Then, she'd start to tear up and look at me with her big, brown eyes. I'd merely give her a 'Deer in the Headlights' look, and Marlene would run out of the room, crying. Father will tell me I'm going to Hell, Mother will never look me in the eyes without crying again.

_'I've let them down, I've let them down, I've let them down...'_ It repeated itself in my head, over and over, until I arrived at the park. I silently cursed my feet for taking me here, then I realised that I sounded completely insane.

I hadn't actually walked through the park for years. After the incident with my father, I decided I should avoid the park, but I had to know if Zack and Cloud were all right. I didn't see them the first week, or the second, or even the third. I started to walk home another way after that, it was too depressing to know I had unknowingly forced the two to move. Taking a deep breath, I started the journey home.

The park hadn't really changed, it was still green, young children still played, the path was still worn and scruffy looking. For a moment, I was actually happy. It was kind of like stepping through a portal to when I was six, to before Zack and Cloud, before my parents were suspicious...

Truth be told, I never really accepted the whole Leviticus 18:22 thing. Yes, it was engraved in my mind, but it never seemed completely... right. I should probably feel terrible for not putting my faith in the Lord, but I just can't force myself to hate Zack or Cloud. They were both so nice, and they didn't seem evil...

_'NO! Looks can be deceiving, you know that!' _My mind started screeching, giving me a headache. I stopped and clutched my head in my hands. I couldn't take it, it was killing me. _'You could always shift the blame to Marluxia... He did kiss you, not the other way around...'_

But, then I'd never see Marluxia again...

_'And? Wouldn't that be for the best?'_

...

The voice in my head did have a point, but blaming Marluxia seemed a horrible, cowardly thing to do. And, Marluxia would be forced to leave, I'd never see him again...

I shook my head again, trying to rid my mind of these thoughts. I started to feel dizzy, and when I could see properly again, I was standing on the path up to my house. Looking at the large, two story brick house, I started to feel sick. I pushed the number into the gate, the pin pad buzzing in approvement. The metal gate swung open automatically, and I began the trek up to my house. It was large, bigger then large. It was huge. I was well off, that much was obvious. I lived in a mansion. It was white, with large windows. The door was made of heavy wood, and stood tall and dominating. I lived in the ritzy part of town, no one even close to our property.

All the estates in this part of town were on acreage, so there was no one in any direction. My front lawn was mostly maple trees, some grass showing through all the orange leaves on the ground. The gardening staff made sure to keep the leaves off the path. Around the back, it was pretty much the same, except there was a pond at the edge of the property that everyone else had forgotten about. It was completely surrounded by the maples, but once you found it, it was revealed to actually be a pretty big clearing. Right next to the pond was a large willow that kept the entire thing in shade. It was my favourite spot.

Finding myself at the front door, I tried to steal myself for what would happen next. I wasn't really sure what would happen, but I hoped it wouldn't be too bad. I pushed the large, red maple door open, noticing that even after years of opening it, it was still a struggle.

"Welcome back, Young Master." Robert, the butler, greeted me. I nodded back and thanked him for helping me with the door. "Your mother and father are in the parlour." He continued, gesturing in the general direction. Again, I simply nodded. I was worried that if I talked, I would be sick. Robert seemed to pick up on my reluctance to talk, but said nothing of it, simply returning to whatever menial task he was doing before I started to struggle with the door.

_'You are a little scrawny...' _Not helping, Voice. God, now I'm talking back to the voice in my head. I really am losing it, aren't I?

I shuffled down the large corridor, my footsteps echoing off the pure white walls. I lifted my head up, looking straight ahead. I could retain some dignity. I wasn't a complete coward. To be fair, I wasn't a coward at all. I was just sick of trying.

"Son? Is that you?" My father's gruff voice carried well down the hall, sounding menacing. It's amazing how he can always sound uninviting and never welcoming, to his son, his wife and his few friends.

"Yes, father." Father. That word meant nothing.

I entered the parlour, the fake lights on full blast, even though the sun was still shining through the thin silk curtains. The entire back wall was made of glass, covered by these violet curtains. It was a waste of money in my opinion. My father was reading in one of the plush chairs, his greying, short cut hair contrasting with the sharp, cold green eyes reading the paper. My mother was sitting in the corner, her hands a flurry as she sewed some new concoction. Her light, blonde hair fell over her wide brown eyes, which always carried a scared, wild look. However, she was just as cold as Father.

"Son, what's wrong?" That wasn't concern. I couldn't name it, but when a parent is concerned, their voice gets softer. At least, that's how it's described in books, I wouldn't know for sure. Mother looked up from her sewing, eyeing me down. She wasn't as harsh as Father, but she was more interested in her Fifteen Minutes of Fame, then my life. Sometimes, it's a blessing.

"N-Nothing!" I stuttered, and my voice cracked at the end. God, he's staring at me! He knows I'm lying!

_'It's not like you where completely obvious about it or something.' _ I didn't know Voices could use sarcasm... Not the right time! Not the right time!

"Are you lying to me, son?" Father bent down, looking me straight in the eye. I took a step back involuntarily, my eyes wide with fear. "What happened son?" Again with the fake concern.

"Vexen, what happened? You can tell us..." Mother looked up from her sewing, her brown eyes wide with curiosity. I was just like her magazines, a source of gossip and not much else. But, she sounded genuily hurt... Maybe I can tell them...

"Um, well, I was, um..." 

_'Great start so far!' _I'm so sick of sarcastic voices!

"See, it was recess and-" I didn't get any further, the door bell interrupted me. I guess I should be thankful, but I was unable to feel anything but paralysing fear.

"Madam and Masters, Mistress Naminé is here for Young Master Vexen." Robert announced, not even hesitating at the sight of Drew intimidating me, scared and helpless. Instead, he raised an eyebrow questioningly, but ignored it. After working for this family since before I was born, he was used to sights such as this. "You don't want to keep the young mistress waiting." With a smirk, the butler gestured for me to follow.

"Uh, yeah, I better not..." I started to mumble at the end of my sentence, walking as fast as I could without running. After exiting the parlour, I shot Robert a gratifying smile and raced off as fast as I could to the front door. There I found Naminé waiting, holding her sketchbook as always.

"Hi Vexen, you don't look to well..." Naminé began cheerfully, before letting her sentence drift off as she took in my dishevelled appearance and wide eyes.

"I'll tell you in a minute!" I whispered as I clutched her arm and dragged her to one of the many empty rooms in the gigantic house.

Naminé was quite well off, living down the road from me. Her mother was a lawyer and provided for both Naminé and her sister Kairi. The sister's father had died several years ago, and if he didn't have life insurance the three would know be on the streets. Or, living with me. Naminé was stick thin with pale skin, except it made her look delicate and fragile, whilst I just looked constantly nervous and sick. She had pale blonde hair that framed her small face and blue eyes which stood out against her otherwise pale complexion.

After finding an empty room (not hard) I started to pace. I didn't really know how to start. I needed to tell someone about this whole thing, and I was hoping I could trust Naminé.

"Vexen, my parents want me home by 4, and I'll have to start going soon..." She left the question unsaid but I could tell what she meant.

"What time is it now?" I asked confusedly. It doesn't take that long to get from my house to Naminé's.

"3:48, but I wouldn't like to be late and get 'The Lecture'." She joked, her tone telling me I needed to cheer up.

_'Cheer up? Ha!' _Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP! I stopped my pacing and sat down, taking a deep breath.

"Okay, you know Marluxia?" I didn't pause, but I noticed her nod. "Well, I saw him today and,he, umm..."

"What? You know you can tell me..."

"Hekissedmealright!" My words blended into each other, but she got the message. She sat stock still for a moment before racing from the room.

_'Great! You scared her off! Way to go!' _I growled, the Voice wasn't making anything better.

"He WHAT?" I froze. I jumped up, and briefly thought about hiding. But then the rational side of my brain screamed that that would only make it worse. I sat down again, resigned. I wasn't mad at Naminé... Or, maybe I was. I was beyond feeling at this point. "VEXEN! REPORT!" Oh God, he only used that tone, he only called me by my name, he only treated me as if I was a soldier when...

When all he could see was red. I rushed out, knowing that the longer I waited, the more he stewed. I slunk my way into the parlour, Robert giving me a pitiful glance. I tried to give him a smile that would say I would be alright, but I think it turned into a grimace.

As soon as I entered, I was struck, my head hit the tiles, my cheek stinging and my mouth tasting of copper. When I looked up, everything was spinning, and when the room finally stood still, I could see my father towering over me, shaking with rage. Out of the corner of my eye, my mother was visibly crying, her hand over her mouth. Naminé had his head hung in shame.

_'She should be ashamed! It's her fault!' _Since when did my sarcastic Voice become spiteful too? Wow, I really am losing it.

"Is what Naminé saying true?" Now his voice was no more than a whisper, he had leant down, glaring at me with cold, eyes. I couldn't hear my mother's muffled sobs, couldn't see Naminé trying to hold in her tears, couldn't know that Robert was at the door, wanting to intervene but knowing it wouldn't bring any good. "ANSWER ME!" He roared, his green eyes lighting up with rage.

I flinched back involuntarily, then I tried scurrying away, but I couldn't find a footing. My converse slipped on the tiles and my father simply reached down and picked me up by my hood like a cat.

"Gack!" I started to choke, my father not releasing me even when I was sure my face turned blue.

"I'll ask you again, is what Naminé said true?" Again, he was whispering. I tried to shrink back in fear, scared for my life.

_'You're being a bit irrational...' _Not the right time!

"It is, isn't it?" Now he was outraged again, the volume of his voice deafening me, making my head spin. "How could you do this to me? To your mother?" He screeched, throwing me across the room. I think Naminé screamed, though it could have been me. My head was still spinning, the room not staying still. I tried to push myself up, but my elbows buckled under the pressure. "After all your mother and I have done to save your soul, how could you do this to us?"

I think something must of snapped inside of me. I stood up with new determination and leaned against the wall.

"Because it's all about how you suffer, what you want, what you think you fucking deserve!" I tried to ignore the twitching in my hand, try to resist covering my mouth. I may not like the way I was brought up, but I never swore. "Well guess what? You don't deserve any of this. You don't deserve this house, your money, anything! There are people on the streets who deserve this more than you!"

_'Abort! Abort!' _For once, my Voice had input that actually counted, and I decided that for once, I would listen. I quickly shut my mouth before more scalding words escaped. Mother was gaping at me, tears leaving stains on her tanned cheeks, her mouth opening and closing, giving her the appearance of a fish. Father had turned purple, and in a flurry of movement was right in front of me, picking me up by my hair.

I screamed out as he carried me to the door. I think Robert may have tried to stop him, but all I could feel was the burning on my scalp. After what seemed an eternity, the burning stopped. For a second, I was flying, weightlessness overcoming me. Then, I hit the ground with a thud that shook me and sent a sharp, stinging pain shooting up my spine.

In the distance, I heard a door slam, but it didn't really register with my brain muddled like this. I felt my instincts take over, the sudden need to run away making me move, even though I was confused and disorientated. I ended up at the train station, buying a ticket for where ever the next train went. The girl selling them had shoulder length brown hair and was thoroughly freaked out by my presence. I can't say I really noticed.

_'What are you doing? You have nowhere to go, no-one to help you! Go back!' _Shut up, Voice!

**

* * *

-\Later.../-**

Those few seconds after waking up, when you don't quite remember where you are or what you're doing were the best I've felt in years. Then the motion and noise of the train reminded me that I currently have no idea where I am, and the idea of spending a night in a town I don't know of has me scared.

"All those for Twilight Town Beach! Twilight Town Beach!" I looked up to find an old speaker, the voice crackling through sounding extremely bored. "Twilight Town Beach!"Sighing, I knew that I couldn't stay on the train much longer. My ticket had already expired and I didn't want to take any chances. I hopped up off my seat and shuffled dejectedly over to the greasy doors. I was the only one in this section of the train. The doors creaked open to reveal an old train station, papers and discarded tickets blowing around in the breeze.

I quickly located the bathroom and locked the door. Taking a look in the mirror, I realised that my appearance wasn't as bad as I thought. The side of my face was a bit red from the slap I had received, and there were streaks running down my cheeks from tears I hadn't known I was crying. My eyes were large and most of my hair had fallen out of my ponytail. I turned the tap on, my hands shaking, and washed my face. My appearance was slightly better. I pulled the black band out of my hair, my bangs framing my face. The rest of my long, pale hair fell down my back. My clothes were stained with blood from somewhere.

_'It's probably yours...'_ Great, just what I need! I unlocked the door and realised it was later then I thought it was. Twilight Town is always bathed in eternal twilight, but when you've lived there your entire life, like I had, you can tell the differences between the various shades of twilight. Right now, it was starting to get dark, so that meant it was anywhere between 5:00 and 8:00. Sighing, I knew I had to find somewhere sheltered to stay the night. With no money for another ticket, I'll have to walk back to the residential part of Twilight Town tomorrow. It wouldn't be too far.

_'Yeah, keep up the optimism, that will help you out of this mess!'_ You know, this is getting really annoying. I started to walk, my thin jacket barely keeping me warm. I ended up on the beach, sitting in the sand and watching the sun set over the ocean. It kept me calm, simply listening to the waves crash. I briefly wondered why the beach was so desolate, so empty, but I wasn't complaining.

Feeling my eyelids droop, I decided to rest, just for a moment...

* * *

**-\Morning/-**

"What have we here...?" A deep voice seeped into the darkness that was my unconscious mind. "Time to wake up, young one." Again, that same voice, accompanied by a sharp poking in my side. Why can't he leave me alone?

I tried to open my eyes, only to find them gritty and heavy. I managed to open them a crack, brightness assaulting my vision. I quickly shut them again, and let out a soft moan.

"The wandering soul knows no rest..." The newcomer mumbled to himself. Suddenly, my sense of direction was thrown out of whack as two arms lifted me up. He placed one of my arms over his shoulder and supported me with an arm on my waist. Groggy, I let him lead me.

_'Shouldn't you be fighting back? You have no idea who this is.' _My muddled brain couldn't formulate a response, the Voice didn't even sound as sarcastic as it usually did.

The arm left me, and if I hadn't been so weak, I would have tried to hold onto it for its warmth. He had placed me onto a soft seat, but I started to shiver, no matter how much I tried to suppress it. He must of noticed, because in the next minute a blanket suddenly fell on top of me. I snuggled into it, and fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

**-\? /-**

My mind drifted upwards towards consciousness, my mind recognizing the feeling of being carried. I must of made some motion, because the voice from earlier started to talk again.

"My friend, the fates are cruel... Ah! You've awakened." A door opening, another voice calling out. I remembered it, but I was still trying to remember how I'd got here. "Open your eyes." The voice ordered. I obeyed a natural habit. The lights must of been dim, since I wasn't blinded. The man carrying me had auburn hair and ice cold blue eyes. His skin was pale and his features almost feminine. He reminded me of someone...

"I'm going to put you down on the lounge, okay?" He asked. I gave him a curt nod, my head spinning from the simple movement. I was gently eased into a plush lounge, the softness guiding me back to sleep.

"Your..." I could barely speak, my body wracked with violent coughs. "Name?" I managed to croak out. He brushed a piece of hair out of his face, revealing a pierced ear.

"Genesis." I smiled up at him, before succumbing to the trembles and coughs that wracked my thin frame. I closed my eyes and tried to bury myself in the soft, pillowy goodness that was the lounge.

"What's going on?" Another voice. Why won't the voices leave me alone? Oh, wait, this one's outside my head. "Who is th- VEXEN?" I winced at the shouting. Must they be so loud?

"You know this one?" Genesis sounded so calm and composed. I wish I could do that.

"Y-Yeah, we go to school together..." Hmm... I do know that voice...

"What's the time now?"

"Around 5."

"I've got to get going to work, okay? You can have the day off to take care of him. I think he'll need it..."

"Wait! Where did you find him?" That voice sounds desperate, I hope Genesis tells him.

"The beach. He was asleep, but I think he may have a concussion."

"Why didn't you take him to the hospital?"

"He looks like a run away, and I don't look enough like him to pass as a parent."

_'Spot on,'_ Shhh, quiet time.

Genesis started to leave, but his footsteps stopped after a couple of steps.

"Even if the morrow is barren of promises, nothing shall forestall my return..." And with that, Genesis had left the building. Literally.

* * *

**-\? /-**

It was dark when I next looked, but I could still see a faint crack of sunlight coming in through a curtain not properly closed. It was hard to see, but I think there's someone asleep on the ground. I tried sitting up, but when that made me lightheaded, I decided to just sit there for a while. It was only then that the severity of this situation hit me. I was in a strangers house, in condition to fight back. I was at their mercy.

"Hmmf..." The person on the ground mumbled in their sleep as I froze. I didn't want them waking up, just in case they're the bad kind of person. "Vexen? Are you awake?" Too late. Not only were they awake, but they knew I was awake.

They sat up, and instantly my fear was replaced by panic, for now I knew I wouldn't get hurt, however I may simply be unable to handle everything.

For in front of me was Marluxia.

I must of started to fall, because Marluxia jumped up to my side and tried to steady me.

_'That's happening a lot.' _Shoo.

"Vexen, I think you have a concussion, and some other injuries, so I've treated them as best I can. Do you want to go to the hospital?"In a daze, I shook my head. My parents would know where I was then, and I wasn't ready to face them again. "Ok, I figured that. Can you talk?"

"Y-Yes" I stumbled, my voice sounding like I hadn't used it in days.

"Can you tell me what happened?" I shifted my look from the opposite wall to Marluxia, who was now sitting beside me. Suddenly, I couldn't take it anymore. I broke down, crying. Everything had gone completely wrong, and I just couldn't take it. Marluxia, to his credit, didn't say anything. He simply held me as I cried. Before I knew it, I was spilling the entire story to him, from where he kissed me, to Naminé's betrayal, to my father kicking me out of the house.

I waited for his scorning words, for him to tell me I'm no more than dirt because I ran away, but it never came. Instead, he waited for me to run out of tears, before he got up, and left the room. For a fleeting second, I thought he was going to simply leave me there, alone and upset. I started to hyperventilate, the thought of being alone was terrifying at the moment.

I clutched my chest, breathing becoming hard and laboured. Why was this affecting me so much?

_'Cause you luuuuuve him!'_ Great, my sarcastic voice was back. And to think I actually missed you! _'I know you did.'_ I'm sick of you already...

I started wheezing, struggling to get a breath, black starting to creep in at the edge of my vision. I distantly heard a glass smash, and I could barely hear Marluxia's panicked voice as I slipped further into the darkness.

* * *

**-\Marluxia's POV/-**

Oh God, oh God, oh God! All I did was leave the room for a few seconds to get him a drink, and he starts having a heart attack! Okay, okay, don't panic, what did they teach you in school? Who am I kidding? I never paid attention in those Health classes.

"Vexen, we have to go to the hospital, okay?" I sounded a lot calmer then I felt. He was slipping in and out of consciousness, but he mumbled something close to an "Ok". I scooped him up, the back of mind registering that he was light, incredibly so, and he was close to being severely underweight. I didn't have time to dwell on that though, I had to figure out a way to get to the hospital. It wasn't far, maybe I could run...

_'No, that's a bad idea!' _ I tried desperately to think of another way to the hospital. I couldn't afford a taxi, and the bus didn't stop anywhere near my house...

The tram! It stopped just down the road, and it went by around this time. As if it was waiting for me to think that, I suddenly heard the whistle of the incoming tram. I rushed down the street, praying not to miss it. I arrived just as it was taking off. I supported Vexen with one arm and banged on the door with the other. Thankfully, he stopped and opened the door. I bowed my head in gratitude and took a seat. He gave me a weird look, but didn't say anything.

I was the only one there, and I knew that the hospital was at least two stops away. I placed a hand on Vexen's chest, trying to feel his heartbeat. It was faint and erratic, but it was there. I let out a shaky breath that I hadn't realised I was holding.

"Kid? You want the hospital, right? 'Cause we're here..." The driver turned to face me, and I gave him a curt nod as I carried Vexen off. As soon as my shoes hit the path, I broke into a sprint. I jumped out of the way of various patients and doctors. As I approached the front desk, I started to slow.

"E...Excuse me?" I panted, trying to breathe. "C...Can you h...help my friend?" The mouse haired receptionist nodded and typed something into the computer.

"The doctor will be here in a minute." I took a seat, cradling Vexen close to me, whispering that everything would be okay. I felt like I was losing my mind as I lost Vexen.

_'You're just overreacting, he'll be fine.'_ The logical part of my brain argued, trying to convince me as I was trying to convince myself.

"Hello there! I assume you want help for your friend?" A woman approached me, bowing slightly. She had short, brown hair and didn't look any older than twenty. I nodded and stood up, clutching Vexen closer to me.

I followed her as she led me down a hallway, stopping at the end of the hall in front of room 114. As she pushed the door open, I took a quick glance around the room. There wasn't much there. It was singular, one bed with a chair next to it, a bedside table and a T.V. as well as a large window with the curtains pulled over it. I laid Vexen down on the bed and pulled the sheets over him as he started to shiver again.

"The doctor will be here in a minute. Until then, can I please have some details?" She picked up a clipboard and uncapped a pen, poised ready to write as she waited for my answer. I gave her a nod, which seemed to satisfy her. "Ok, we'll start from the top! His name?"

"Vexen-" I hesitated in giving his last name, knowing they would recognise it and call his parents. Everyone had heard of the Jostads. The intern looked up expectantly, and I noticed for the first time that she was wearing a name tag.

_'Doctor Gulwin... That's an interesting name.' _She must of noticed me looking, because she smiled at me and told me to call her Yuna.

"I need his last name, is there a reason you can't give it to me?" Yuna gave the most innocent look ever, and I found myself crumbling beneath her gaze.

"I'll give it to you, as long as you write something different on that form," I looked at her as she nodded warily, "Vexen Jostad." Yuna let out a small gasp at this, and her gaze shifted to the unconscious Vexen.

"That's their son?"

"Yeah, but he doesn't want his parents to know he's here."

"Okay, next question then, what is your relation to him?"

"Friend, I guess..." To be fair, I wasn't really sure how to answer that. I thought of Vexen as my friend, but did he?

"And how did he obtain those injuries?"

I froze, not sure if Vexen wanted anyone to know. Maybe if he hadn't gotten a concussion, he wouldn't have told me either.

"You should ask him that when he wakes up..." Yuna seemed to understand my reluctance to talk, but it seemed she would've pushed it if the doctor hadn't come in at that exact moment.

"Hello, I am Doctor Wisor, but you can call me Ansem. Yuna, what are we dealing with here?"

"From the look of it, I would say a concussion and maybe some internal bleeding. I'll do a blood test to make sure he hasn't contracted any diseases-" Yuna was cut off by a moan coming from Vexen, his eyelids fluttering open.

"M-Marluxia..." I rushed to his side and grabbed his hand, telling him over and over that I was here, that everything would be fine. It looked like he tried to smile, but it turned out more like a grimace. "Where am I?" The question I had been dreading.

"The hospital. I had to take you here when you passed out. I'm sorry." I hung my head, not wanting to look at him when I had done the exact opposite of what he wanted.

"Why are you sorry? If you hadn't taken me, I could've ended up a lot worse than I am now..."

"Vexen, can you tell us what happened? The sooner we know, the sooner we know what to look for in your injuries." Yuna tried smiling, but she was obviously concerned.

"Umm... My father and I had a fight over something serious..." Did I imagine it, or did his eyes just flick over to me? "He slapped me to start with and it would've ended there, but I guess I kind of provoked him. He threw me across the room and I kind of blacked out for a moment. Next thing I know, he's thrown me out of the house." Vexen didn't look at anyone during this entire thing, his grip on my hand becoming painful, but I refused to let go. He needed someone for this, and the fact that he still trusted me even though I caused him all this pain was enough for me to deal with it.

Yuna had been scribbling something down, whilst Ansem simply looked thoughtful.

"We'll run a blood test and give you an x-ray, and we'll see how we go from there. Now you," He turned to face me, a hard glint in his eye. "I'm not sure if I can allow you to stay here, and technically, visitor's hours ended quite a while ago..." Ansem left the sentence hanging, and I stood up and prepared to leave. I was jerked back when Vexen's grip on my hand tightened, he was now clutching my wrist so tightly I thought the circulation would be cut off. I turned around and came face to face with Vexen's large, puppy dog jade eyes.

"Please don't leave." It was barely above a whisper, yet the fear in his voice struck me to my core. I nodded dumbly, simply taking my seat again. Ansem must of understood, since he didn't push the fact that I had to leave, simply left, muttering something inaudible. Yuna simply shook her head and shot me a smile.

"Okay, I just have to take some blood..." She murmured as she inserted a needle into Vexen's arm.

_'I hope he's not squeamish...'_ I didn't have anything to worry about though, as Vexen watched the needle, fascinated.

"Okay, I'll be back in a couple of hours, so until then, try and get some sleep. Both of you." It almost looked like a glare, but I just didn't think Yuna was capable of it.

"Wait! Before you go, is there a phone anywhere around here?" I got up, this time Vexen let me go.

"Sure, just down the hall. And I turned his morphine up, so he'll be asleep when you get back." I turned around to find that Vexen had been connected to a whole bunch of machines whilst I wasn't concentrating. Vexen's eyes were already drooping, so I decided I could leave for a few minutes.

I closed the door as quietly as possible and started back the way I'd come. Eventually, I found a phone, and proceeded to dial SOLDIER.

"Hi there! This is SOLDIER, how may I help you?" The high pitched squeaky voice of a secretary filled my ears. I pulled the receiver away from my ear as it started to ring with the shrill tone.

"Um, yeah, can I talk to Genesis? I'm his cousin." I stated as an afterthought. Genesis was pretty high up on the chain of command, and he didn't accept calls from just anyone.

"Ok, may I ask your name?"

"Marluxia Jones."

"Ok, I'll just connect you!" God, does she have any other volume besides soprano? The phone suddenly started playing music before a robotic voice told me I had to wait. Great...

"Hello, this is Genesis." That was quicker than I thought.

"Hey! It's me, Marluxia. Listen, I'm at the hospital–"

"Why, exactly?"

"Vexen was having problems breathing and he passed out."

"Is he alright?"

"Yeah, for now..." Wow, I sounded really depressed. "I just wanted to let you know, ok?"

"Thank you, but I'll be working late tonight, ok?"

"Yeah, sure. See ya!" I hung up, not waiting for him to say anything. I shuffled down the hall and opened the door to find Vexen asleep, just as Yuna had promised. Closing the door, I leaned on the wall and watched him sleep. His long, blond hair was out of its regular ponytail, something I hadn't noticed before. It was splayed out, showing how thick it really was. There was a thin ray of light shining in from behind the curtains which reflected off his pale skin, showing how frail and ashen he was.

"You like him, don't you?" I jumped at the voice, having not heard the door open, and turned around to face Yuna, looking down into her blue eyes.

_'She's so short..._'

"Umm, yeah, he's my friend!" Now I sound really defensive. At least I didn't stutter, I'd never forgive myself...

"No, I mean, you like him more than a friend." Yuna stressed the more, whilst I hung my head. I worked hard to not let people find out about my crush, but some people can see through whatever façade I throw up. People like Roxas, although that little blond can be really oblivious to what's right in front of him. "It's okay, I'm not judgemental or anything. And you're doing a good job of hiding it. But I'm a doctor, people lie to me all the time. That, and I studied psychology in high school." She ended with a smile and proceeded to check Vexen's vitals. I didn't even notice when she left the room again, I just made my way to the chair besides the bed and sat stock still.

He was like a wilted flower. I didn't want to think of him like that, but it was true. When a flower is cut off from sunlight it wilts. Vexen's parents cut him off from the real world, from people, from friends, from everything. And because of it, he began to wilt. He also knew that sometimes, even if you let the flower have sunlight again, it might be too late.

_'If I can't show him that everything his father taught him is wrong... If I can't save him...'_ Shaking my head, I didn't want to think of what I'd do if Vexen never got over what his parents did to him. _'I need to occupy myself...' _I pushed some of my cerise hair behind my ear and felt the familiar wooden texture of a lead pencil.

Smirking, I pulled it out and grabbed the clipboard at the end of the bed. Maybe they had some spare paper on it? Yes! I now had a way to pass the time. The paper was yellow and had print on the back, but there was at least four sheets of the stuff, they wouldn't miss one, would they?

Sitting back down in the chair, I began to lightly sketch on the paper, my pencil passing fluently over the paper from years of experience. When I was five, my parents were so sure I was going to be a golden child after Genesis' 'failure'. They'd enrolled me in all these extracurricular classes, most of which I hated. But in the end, some of them payed off. I'm a Grade 8 pianist, writing essays is second nature to me and, above all, my artistic skills are amazing. Of course, that didn't make me any better at Maths and Science...

My thoughts drifted, my pencil simply sketching. I wasn't even concentrating. The nurses came and went, none of them questioned my presence. And for that, I was grateful.

* * *

**A/N: **_**This chapter was going to be a lot longer, but I think I'll post it as is. I want to know if anyone is actually reading this, because I'm thinking of discontinuing it. I've only got one review for it so far, and I'm getting kind of disheartened. Real life is also getting in the way, so unless there is anyone wanting me to continue, I'll stop writing it. I don't want to sound needy or anything, but I would like to know if anyone's reading...**_

_**Even one person! Just one...**_

_**Please?  
~Vithian**_

P.S. Vexen is not insane. He is just arguing with, I guess you could call it his conscience. So yeah!


	4. Author's Note

**First off! **  
I am sorry to disappoint, but this is not an update. This is a notice. I know we aren't supposed to post chapter's with just A/N, but I feel this needs to be said. This story is now, officially, on hiatus. I supposed must of you already guessed this, but now it's official.

**Secondly!  
**I want your guys opinions - I'm considering rewriting this, to try and make it better and focus less on so many pairings. However, instead of focusing on Akuroku, I will probably focus on MarVex, because I just have more ideas for that. If you really want a high school Akuroku story, go read Sex Ed 101 by kokoro77, it's what inspired me to try my hand at writing in the first place.

**Thirdly!  
**Reading back on this story, I don't like it at all. So, basically the same as **Secondly!**, I want you guys to post a vote in a review or something (because I don't feel like making a poll) as to whether you want the main pairing to be Akuroku or MarVex. Either way, it will get a major revision. Like, major. As in, story changing major. The entire direction of the story will probably change. But, the concept will remain the same. I hope.

**Fourthly!  
**I want to thank all of you who reviewed, especially you guys, favourited, alerted, or even just gave this story a look. You guys are great!

I'm sorry this isn't a real update! Please don't throw old yoghurt at me!  
~Vithian


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